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November 06, 2008

The election took place on Tuesday and the voters have spoken. I personally was pleased with the results of the Presidential election, but the tasks ahead are huge and important.

We are in the middle of an economic downturn that will force economic fixes such as stimulus packages to the top of the agenda. I read today that some Obama aides are already trying to tamp down expectations. That will be necessary, since the US economy needs to improve before we can take on new spending programs like a health care package that offers coverage for most Americans.

I certainly hope that President-elect Obama is serious funding of infrastructure projects. In my view, this would be a practical way to offer much needed stimulus to the flagging US economy and take on much needed improvements to our infrastructure. However, we need to avoid just throwing money at the tasks -- it would be useful for the funds to be made available at the state level so that people closer to the issues can make the decisions on which projects to fund. I'd also like to see an auditing function put in place at the same time to make sure we're getting value out of our tax money.

The issues are almost anywhere one can turn, whether it is the economy, the way forward in dealing with the enemies of the US, dealing with global warming, devising a smart energy strategy or improving our pre-college education system. Mr. Obama stated clearly that a President needs to multi-task and he'll need to do that. But even more important, he needs to set a focused set of priorities and drive those ahead. There is no way he can take on all of the campaign promises of the last 2 years near term, so his first test will be to make smart choices in setting the national agenda.